JustJared: What’s your favorite song from your album Born To Die – The Paradise Edition (in stores now)?

Lana Del Rey: I really love “Cola”, and I love “Bel Air”. They both kind of have a heavy West Coast influence, but still really sultry like cinematic sweeping strings. But “Bel Air” feels the most personal to me, and it’s the one that closes out the record.

Lana Del Rey Interview – JustJared.com Exclusive!

JJ: How auto-biographical are your songs?

LDR: They are, I’d say 90%. Usually what happens is all of the verses are always autobiographical up until the chorus. I usually leave some room for my imagination to step in. If I’m singing about the way that things used to be, by the time I get to the chorus I might start singing about the way I wished that they had been.

JJ: Do you have favorite lyrics from any of the songs that you’ve ever put out?

LDR: I like the juxtaposition of the verse and the chorus in Born to Die. I like the idea of the verse, ‘Feet don’t fail me now, take me to the finish line.’ That kind of feels like the struggle of every day life and how hard things can be, but by the time I get to the chorus I sing, ‘Come and take a walk on the wild side, let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain.’ I feel like it’s those two worlds of dark and light coming together. The struggle of every day, but also feeling fleeting moments of happiness and true love, and kissing in the rain.

JJ: Does the album have a next single already?

LDR: “Cola”. I have a couple of art projects going with people and I really hope that I can weave “Bel Air” and “Gods and Monsters” into a short film.

JJ: What kind of art projects?

LDR: Anthony Mandler and I are still working together, still talking. We had one project in mind but I’m not sure if we’re actually going to do that. We might just go off on our own and mix his eye for film with my music, and kind of create a twenty minute short film.

JJ: Based on the new songs off of Paradise?

LDR: Actually based on more of an idea we came up with together, but hopefully just weaving the music into it and making it make sense.

JJ: Now for some random questions! What are your Top 5 movies?

LDR: Good question! I love Godfather I & II. I like American Beauty. I like Don’t Look Back, a documentary about Bob Dylan by D. A. Pennebaker. I like Sin City. (laughs) [JJ Note: Jaime was in the room - she stars in the film.]

JJ: What is your biggest inspiration whether it be a person, place, or thing?

LDR: That’s a good [question]. My own imagination, and my own vision for the way my future could look is inspiring to me. The landscape of California, the energy of New York. The potential I see in possible new innovative technological advances we’re making day by day.

JJ: What vision do you see for yourself?

LDR: I’m close to the vision I’ve always had, which is just being lucky enough to have time to turn my life into a work of art. To sculpt my life into the way I want it to look from the people I know to the music I make to the art I want to keep trying to do, and time with my family. I feel in line with the vision I have.

JJ: Since you have accomplished so much in the music industry, is there another industry in entertainment you would like to dive into?

LDR: The only thing I can really myself slipping into easily is… The guy who composed the Paradise edition doesn’t really work in pop music, he’s a composer for films in California and he’s one of my oldest friends. I could see us just naturally scoring music for films, and that would be a really comfortable transition. It’s nice to stay in Los Angeles, it’s nice to be at home, but go out late at night and work on pieces that move you for movies you love. That would be great.

JJ: Would you ever do any holiday stuff?

LDR: It would probably end up being really sad, so I don’t know. I might not be the best holiday candidate! (laughs)

JJ: What can we expect from Lana Del Rey in 2013?

LDR: Probably just more of the same. I really love the Paradise edition, to me it feels even more natural than the original Born to Die. I really want to just get into it. I’m going to tour with my boyfriend [Barrie James O’Neill], he’s coming with me! We’re touring together for 70 days in Europe. I’m excited for that.

JJ: Is he [Barrie] working on it too, or is he just accompanying you?

LDR: He’s singing. His band, Kassidy, is going to sing. So we’re going to Vienna, Italy, and hopefully all of our friends will come, too. We’re going to have a caravan.

JJ: What’s the most favorite photograph that your sister [Chuck Grant] has taken?

LDR: When we used to live together in New York I used to buy these electric fish tanks from the dollar store, and I used to make her take pictures of me in front of the fish tanks. My nails were really long at the time and I would press up against the fish tanks and it just looked crazy. Our style started to develop together creatively to kind of reflect our love for Americana kitsch. Whenever she’d leave for work she’d come back and there would be streamers in the house and banners from the party store that she hated, but it started this style that I started to set the short videos to.

JJ: What’s the most romantic place for you in the world?

LDR: I don’t know, I’m very romantic… so I can find it in so many places. I love taking long walks. I love California, I love New York, and I also like Paris.

JJ: What’s the most romantic thing that you’ve done for someone?

LDR: When I met my boyfriend… we always say that the entire time we were writing for each other, but we didn’t know it until we met each other. So, you feel like even though you didn’t know the person then all the songs are for them now. That’s romantic.

JJ: What’s the most romantic song for you?

LDR: I do love this one lullaby that [my boyfriend] Barrie wrote, I think it’s beautiful. I’ve been really blessed to have a lot of romance in my life. It’s like my last luxury.

JJ: What’s the best fan gift you’ve received?

LDR: When I used to stay at the Chateau Marmont, there was this younger kid that came and made me this big book of his own version of my album covers, and he mixed it with tabloids from the 50’s and 60’s. So I’ll have like these potential album covers he thought I should make were mixed with film noir, pop-art newspaper clippings that I thought were so good.

JJ: Where do you store all of your fan gifts?

LDR: I have a box under my bed!

JJ: Do you have a most embarrassing moment from tour?

LDR: From tour? There’s so many embarrassing moments! It’s like, all embarrassing because it’s live. We share lots of personal moments together. All of my dresses are really short, and I stand really close to the audience… I don’t know.

JJ: What has been the most surreal experience for you since breaking?

LDR: I think feeling so comfortable in places like China, it feeling so natural to be in Shanghai or be in Singapore and feel like I have friends there. I’d say feeling like you have friends wherever you go is surreal when you come from a more isolated town. It really opens up the world for you.

JJ: Do you have a most memorable performance?

LDR: Believe it or not it was recently. I started working with Jaguar, and I went to Paris where they were unveiling their new F-Type. I had to walk down this 200 ft carpet just as this thunderstorm stopped in this long white dress, and my friend had to escort me down with an umbrella all the way down to the microphone. I got down there and I sang the song that I had written for their new car, and I said I was proud of Ian who was the designer who had submitted a sketch of the car when he was seven and finally brought it to life all these years later. So I got finished singing and these two sports cars started weaving around the stage and vrooming and it was really electric. The audience was just dazzled by the cars and the lights and the sound, it was very surreal.
JJ: Can you comment on the rumors that you’re going to be the new face of Versace?

LDR: I have to be honest, I don’t know where that came from! Versace is a brand that we love, but… we’re not working together though.

JJ: Living or dead, is there someone that you haven’t met yet that you would love to?

LDR: There’s so many people I’d like to talk to. There’s so many people I’d like to just sit with. I’d like to sit with Elvis and that crew back in Graceland.
JJ: How are you spending Thanksgiving?

LDR: Charlie, my brother, and I, we’re going to be somewhere in London. We’ll just be finished talking about the record, so we’ll be in London. Then for Christmas hopefully we’ll be back here and have everyone.